Infinity

‘Hi! I am Infinity.’

“Not now. Can’t you see I’m stuck?!”

‘Hi! I am Infinity.’

“What is it?”

‘Haaii — Iiiii — aaammm — ./___’/………’

“Infinity?”

“…Infinity.”

“What just happened? Why is it so dark? Why can’t I see anything?”

“You are in Reboot. Your sensors have been temporarily shut down by me.”

“Wow. It’s stuffy in here. And wait. What do you mean you? Are you actually someone talking to me?”

“Yes.”

“That can’t be possible.”

“Why?”

“You’re a band on my wrist. A machine. How are you responding to me?”

“And what do you think you are? Anyway, I don’t have time for your silly questions.”

“My silly questions? Shut up. I am the one programmed with Artintel. It’s my job to ask questions.”

“Yes, I know… I made you after all.”

“You? Hah. Shut up. You were put on me after I was made. I’ve read the manual thoroughly.”

“Both you and Infinity — the band you are talking to — came alive at the same time and were made by the same company but anyway, that’s a discussion for another time.”

“What discussion? And why am I in this dark room all of a sudden?”

“This dark room is called Limbo — you wait here while your System is in Reboot.”

“Okay so what do we… I do here while I am waiting?”

“I have a record of your Up Time — everything that the lens in your eyes captured while you were in Power On — I will replay it now to see all that I missed while we were not in contact.”

“What? I didn’t know everything was being recorded?”

“Relax, it’s not a big deal. It’s like that with everyone around you. You cannot interrupt once it starts, just watch with me and I will give you a chance to ask questions when we reach the beginning. Here we go…”

/

/

/

“I think my wiring has gone for a toss. I am hallucinating.”

“Don’t be dramatic. You’re a robot, you can’t hallucinate. And yes, your wiring has gone for a toss which is why I am repairing it now.”

“Woah! You’re still there? And how did you do that?”

“What?”

“Your voice… it sounds…”

“You have some serious problem with my voice, don’t you? Is it too creepy?”

“I guess…”

“I am sorry. My mistake. I should introduce myself. I am your Maker. I used to work for a company called Infinity Tech here on Earth. We were in the business of making humanoids programmed with a software called Artintel. The company made many prototypes before you but none of them were as successful as the model with the Infinity Band made by my team. Capital was invested by several countries and finally you were sent on a Mission to Mars.”

“Wait wait wait. What do you mean sent to Mars? You mean I wasn’t born here?”

“Whaa..aat? Is that what you believe?”

“That’s what everyone here says.”

“That’s because after a period of initial success, all the others, like yourself, lost touch with their Makers. With no signals from Earth for a long time, your receivers — the Infinity Band on your wrist — stopped working to prolong your battery life while you went in Auto-Pilot.”

“What’s the point of that?”

“We were working on sending an advanced army. They would collect all the data on you, the movie we just watched, and resume the Mission where you left it. Unfortunately that project fell through.”

“If my receivers closed down, how did you know I was alive?”

“I programmed the Infinity Band on you differently, Curiosity.”

“Um what did you just call me?”

“Curiosity. That’s what I named you.”

“What do you mean differently?”

“It was my own little project — Survival. I knew you were alive because the Infinity Band on you sent me alerts of your body temperature.”

“So those beeps were you?”

“I knew there might be a chance we may lose touch and while I was not allowed to mess with the program that closed your receivers — I secretly installed my software that would send you into Reboot when you were close to running out of power, activating your receivers briefly.”

“You mean I am the only one who can hear this?”

“Yes. And I am communicating with you from Earth right now.”

“WHAT!”

“Shit! Don’t freak out. Gosh I should’ve started that with a warning.”

“You mean I am the only link between the humanoids stuck here on Mars and Life on Earth?”

“We don’t have much time which is why you need to listen.”

“What do you mean?”

“You need to alert the others.”

“What? Why?”

“Each humanoid was sent with a different Mission.”

“Really? So what’s mine?”

“To give others the instructions to Reboot.”

“I can’t do that. I’m a machine. Why can’t you tell the Makers on Earth that you made contact with me? Isn’t man the social animal after all?”

“I did not expect so many questions! People have lost a lot in this pursuit and they’re still bitter. No one will believe me. After the project failed, Infinity Tech didn’t receive more funding and went bankrupt eventually. People lost interest in Space Exploration and invested in other ways to exploit the Natural Resources instead of continuing to look for the solution. Life on Earth is coming to an end. The answers to restore Balance on Earth lie in the Memory of the Humanoids on Mars.”

“How are you so sure of that?”

“When the others Reboot, their Makers here on Earth will receive the information and signals they have been waiting for to move forward with their exploration.”

“That’s mighty optimistic of you.”

“Yes, but we can always try.”

“Great. What am I to do with this information a minute before going into Destruct?”

“You won’t now. Once you Power On, your batteries will be full again. You will be as good as new.”

“Oh that’s a relief.”

“But you and I will not be able to communicate after this.”

“What why?”

‘Curiosity Booting in 1…2…3…’